Review: (Montreal) II (Deux)

Elkhana Talbi, Marc Dalpé (photo by Mathieu Girard)

Home Fronts in The War on Terror
by Élaine Charlebois

In  II (Deux), Mercier (Jean-Marc Dalpé),  an experienced police officer whose trust of his Muslim wife Maha,  (Elkahna Talbi), begins to waver with the advent of the War on Terror era. The simplistic set is meant to emulate two separate interrogation rooms in which each character takes turns revealing their story and how their relationship became poisoned by the crippling xenophobia that emerged in the wake of 9/11. Infected by the collective paranoia that led many to fear and doubt the intentions of Muslims around the world, Mercier begins to suspect that his wife is somehow involved with terrorists due to her multiple work trips outside of the country. Though Maha does in fact have something to hide from her husband, it is not at all related to his irrational assumptions. 

Review: (Toronto) Two Rooms / II

Elkahna Talbi and Jean Marc Dalpé (photo credit: Mathieu Girard)

No Room for Compromise
To love or loathe those “swinging Tunisian hips”
by Gregory Bunker

Théâtre Français’s Two Rooms elaborates on the racist overtones created by the “war on terror”. It uses an older, white, “old school” Canadian policeman and a young, intelligent, beautiful, Muslim immigrant to tell its story. Originally written in English by Mansel Robinson, Two Rooms has been tweaked and translated for a French audience, shifting the immigrant’s identity as an Uyghur Muslim to a North African Muslim, for example. Jean Marc Dalpé, the male lead, translated the play to reflect a more natural French rhythm. But anglophones need not fear: surtitles are provided, which were effectively used by this humble reviewer even if their near proximity made it a bit difficult to flit between the acting and the dialogue.

The Sunday Feature: Mansel Robinson on II/Two Rooms

Elkahna Talbi and Jean Marc Dalpé (photo credit: Mathieu Girard)

Reflections from Mulligan's Bay
The journey from Two Rooms to II
by Mansel Robinson

You write a play to give it away.

Two Rooms has been on the road since last Spring, in a French translation by Jean Marc Dalpé, and produced by Sudbury’s Théâtre du Nouvel-Ontario and Ottawa’s Théâtre de la Vieille 17. 15 cities and towns. A cheque arrives from time to time, like a post-card from Moncton or Montreal or Sept-Îles. Lovely. 

There is a lot of mileage between this play and myself. It was first produced in English at Persephone Theatre in Saskatoon in 2011. Set in a large urban centre, it touches down briefly in the deserts of North Africa, a tourist town in the South Seas, the Muslim region of Thailand. I live in an old cabin on the Chapleau River, in Northern Ontario. Winter neighbours: 17. As I type the temperature has been hitting 30 below, and that’s without the added delight of wind-chill. We had a chimney fire two mornings ago, and I cracked my ankle shovelling our rink on the Bay. I’m just saying that the desert sounds pretty good about now. Sitting in a warm theatre would be nice, too. But not about to happen.

Still, in spite of the distance, a few reflections from Mulligan’s Bay.